Yaaresse
by Maymerz the Mighty
Summary: Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar, and Pallando. The untold tale of the Blue Istari and their apprentices. Please R/R!!! I beeeg youuu...Chapter 4 is up, please review and tell me what I need to fix!
1. Ambaron: Sunrise

**Chapter One: Ambaron (Sunrise)**

**Nope, none of the LOTR wizards, hobbits, humans, dwarfs, gods, elves, or inanimate objects belong to me. But oh if they did…*evil grin*. They're the creation of a brilliant mind, so you'll have to thank Mister Tolkien. On with the story!!!**

_Five were sent. Why? Why not. How? Nosey, aren't you? The tale will be told in due time, now harken, and I will tell you of the five forgotten wanderers. Five were sent to us, yet only one returned. One is thought to be dead, for the while, struck down by his own guard, who himself perished as a victim of the little people. That leaves Three…the Three have not been heard of in many, many years. The worst is feared. One has become lost and entangled with the nature of the lands, possibly to an extent from which he cannot free himself, a victim of his own endeavors. He might return. The two whom are left disappeared long, long ago; they were never heard of again. They might return. Out of the company, only one remained true…only one returned._

Teeth chattering viciously, the small figure drew closer to herself, burrowing her red, icy nose into the depths of cold denim. Salty tears mixed with even saltier remnants of the ocean still clinging to her damp pants. Her small body was shivering miserably and she clung to her knees desperately. She sniffled forlornly, trying to control the sobs that shook her. "I…I'm lost…I think…" she spoke aloud to herself, comforted slightly by the sound of her own voice. She tried to stare at the surrounding beach through the darkness, but she could see nothing except the white sand beneath her. She could hear the ocean before her and shuddered. "Wh-what happened? Wh-where am I?"

She could feel the panic rise…it began in her stomach as a heavy, sick feeling and rapidly rose to engulf her chest. Her breathing became heavier and her eyes darted to and fro like an ensnared rabbit that knows that stew is on the supper menu. She whimpered as a cold gust of wind ripped through her thin, damp clothing and clutched her knees to her chest desperately. She shivered violently for a few moments, pondering what she should do. "I should stay here…th-that's what you're su-supposed to do when you're lost…right?" She asked herself. "_Yeah, of course th-that's what they tell you…but, you'll die of hypothermia if you stay here much longer_," she argued back. The girl blinked in surprise at the sound of her harsh voice contradicting itself, but was too tired to give the effort it took to shut herself up. "_Besides, you won't go far, just enough to get away from this beach…_"

The girl considered both sides of the argument before finally giving into herself. "You're r-right…I'm freezing!" She quickly gathered her senses and attempted to stand up. "Huh?" she tried to ask herself with a mouth full of sand. She sputtered and finally rolled over onto her face, her sandy brow was furrowed. The other half of her brain responded, "_Geez…must be pretty worn out from all that swimming_." She pondered this from the cold, sandy floor. "That tired? Really?" She attempted to stand again, wary of her weak knees, and this time she was successful. She staggered along the wide, white sands, in the only direction she was sure of - away from the ocean. Her knees were weak and her legs worked about as well as floating bricks. She sank to the ground again and curled into the fetal position dejectedly. "'S 'nough…"

As the dreamless sleep came, she yawned widely and burrowed into the sand like a large, tan turtle. There she slept like a dead thing, unmoving and quiet as the night. The ocean could be heard not far away, and no one had the heart to tell her until the morning sunlight came that she had only gone a certain number of feet from where she had begun. The night waited for the sun, and the child waited for the sun, but the ocean longed for the moon.

The Five had been spread to the farthest reaches of known and unknown territories. All awoke from a frightening darkness to an even more frightening day. Sunlight slowly began it's cascade, bringing with it joy and terror. Lost and confused, the travelers began to do what they did best: wander. Together they were drawn towards the rising hope.

Jun Dae awoke to the fiery, bright summer sun beating down upon his darkened face. He winced at the searing light and flung his right arm over his face to protect his eyes. He grimaced at the cricks implanted throughout his lean body, and most noticeably in his arm. He sat up slowly, groaning all the while. Blanching, he lay back down much more quickly. He lay as rigid as a skeleton, staring at the bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The boy blinked repeatedly before finally finding it in him to rise again. He sat up and gave his surroundings a long, hard stare, burning them into his mind for further use someday. The tree base behind him was thick and old and rubbed against his back unkindly as he moved breathed deeply. He watched a small bird hop about on one of the long branches far above him, taking a moment to listen to it chirp. Eventually, another bird of similar coloring met it. The first bird chirped and hopped towards the second bird and the second …

Jun Dae blushed and looked away quickly. His brow furrowed and he stared at the ground in confusion. Where was he? What time was it? What happened? Why was he twenty feet in the air? He thought long and hard about his predicament and shook his dark head of hair, frustrated by the impossibility and illogicality of the situation. The last thing he remembered was the glowing ball thing…His black eyes grew wide. He remembered a voice. Whose voice? He thought harder. A boy's voice. Which boy? Jun Dae shook his head in frustration; he didn't know the boy's name, but he could see his face. He had big green eyes and dark curly hair…wow, he looked so scared the he could have peed his pants. Then again…Jun Dae kicked himself, literally. What had he been saying? Crystal balls and magic…Jun Dae ran a bronze hand through his dark hair slowly. He firmly reprimanded himself for his stray thoughts. Magic did not exist, he was not an idiot; magic simply did not exist.

The Korean thought for a moment more before attempting to find his way down. The first thing he'd have to do is find the others who had been with him before...well, before he had woken up in a tree. It was obvious to him that they were nowhere nearby, for they were quite thoroughly American… well, except for May, and the woods were quite thoroughly quiet. Jun Dae smirked at the thought of his classmates tramping through the woods, yelling at the mosquitoes and the trees, screaming for a cab, whining about their feet.  Yup, if they were here, he would have known by now. The whole forest would have known. He decided that it would not be a bad idea to double check. He wasn't going to be going anywhere very soon anyways…

"Joshua? Jessica? Is anybody out there? Can anybody hear me?" he yelled. Waiting quietly for any sort of reply, he squatted, his back against the rough tree. "Anybody!?" he wailed desperately. He could hear the leaves crackle and the underbrush far below him rustled as if the wind had just passed. Jun Dae gaped in bewilderment.

"I have not seen a bird of such size since the world began…tell me, little birdie, what did you eat for breakfast?"

The sun rose into the sky, casting it's bright, unforgiving light upon the earth. The light spread slowly and methodically, but you can't blame it. It didn't know that today was going to be one of the most important days to ever be forgotten. History would change today. The bats hid, the owls squeezed into their small wooden homes, and the snakes scrambled to escape the oncoming heat. The land welcomed the light and basked beneath it. It basked until it burned and begged for the moon to show it's mellow grin again.

The boy awoke gagging and sputtering. He heaved his heavy, muscle-laden body over until his back rested against the dry, packed sand and he faced the sky. He winced painfully as the bright sun pierced his bright blue eyes and groaned loudly. He sat up slowly with a small grin and opened his mouth to speak. His retort died as quickly as it had begun.

"Hey, that was fun…uhh…hullo?" The grin dissipated quickly and was replaced by a small, confused frown. His brow furrowed and he swung his blond head to and fro, but to no avail…no one was near. His friends were gone. Panic rose into his throat and he sprang quickly to his feet. His heart was pounding now and his breath came faster and shallower. He began to wander along the dirt path on which he had awoken, gradually quickening his step. Soon he was running, desperately searching for anyone or anything.

"Jessie? Junny? Weasel…I mean, Wesley? Anyone!!! Is anyone out there!?" he yelled, in a frantic hurry to nowhere. His distressed sprint slowed as the adrenaline began to subside and he quietly wandered for a ways. His mind was a labyrinth of confusion and mixed-up thoughts. He was completely alone, he knew that much. He was not sure where, why, or how he was, and that concerned him greatly. For the first time since his rude awakening with the dusty ground, he took a good, long look around at his surroundings. And meager surroundings they were. It was a strange place; it looked like a desert as far as he could see. A few desperate trees hugged the golden desert floor and futilely attempted to grow in scattered, random places. The sky was as blue as the boy's keen eyes and stretched untainted by cloud or bird for miles. The sun was piercing and the only relief was an occasional warm breeze, which barely cooled the perspiration on his forehead.

He swept his long blond hair out of his eyes and squinted hard and long at a small gray haze in the distance ahead of him. It looked like it could be a building a ways off…but then again, it also looked like it could be a large armadillo a ways off…He squared his broad shoulders and began to walk falteringly toward it. He had made up his mind, he was headed to the large armadillo…or city, whichever it was, and he was going to get there. It was what might await him that caused his step, and his heart, to falter.

The earth was awake; the sun had completed its morning run successfully. It watched indifferent and uninterested as the world awoke and began its daily chores. It watched unsympathetic and uncaring as the Five awoke with tears and panic. It watched impassive and deadpan as death and life echoed around the small green globe. It watched the young, wild world beneath it grow and change slowly over time. Time…the sun knew nothing of the twenty-four hour day, or three hundred and sixty-five day year, it knew that the cycle was all that mattered. That was its purpose. It had never aspired to do or be anything beyond the cycle. The orbit around the world was all that was vital and important, and until the day came that the earth was no more it would remain that way. Then the sun would lose its purpose and die.

"Whaddya think it is?"

"Well, it's an orc, or course…see"

"I don't like it…it smells strange…"

"Bet it's dead."

"Ewwwwwwwww!!!"

Wesley could feel his arm being dropped heavily onto the ground and he groaned loudly. He could hear a chorus of gasps and whimpers surround him. He opened one bright green eye cautiously and moaned again, this time louder. One high-pitched scream and pounding feet met his racket. Now he opened both eyes and pushed himself up onto his elbows. What he saw startled him and stared in astonishment at the surrounding forms. They were children, very small children, all with a mop of curly hair, not unlike his own. He could only see four of them, but he assumed that the pounding feet he had heard before meant that there had been five. The child nearest to him held a short, sturdy stick. It wavered under Wesley's amused glance and finally the awkward silence was broken.

"Don't move, Mister Orc, or I'll…I'll…" The boy faltered for words until finally the boy beside him whispered something quietly in his ear. "I'll send you where you belong." The boy finished with a flourish of the stick and the three others murmured in approval. Wesley raised a dark brow.

"Really? That's quite generous of you…now, which way to the closest Marta station?" Wesley slowly picked himself up of the ground and rose to his full height of five foot two. He almost laughed when the boy gaped at him. Wesley was not a large boy by any means; in fact he was the smallest in his entire high school. He had been born with a growth inhibition, which had kept him from topping five feet in is lifetime, but the doctor had suggested a special type of tennis shoe which made him look taller. Wesley loved it.

"Hey…uh…could you please not hurt us?" The red headed leader had finally found the courage to speak again. Wesley slowly smiled.

"There, now that's much more polite…now I won't have to eat you…" Eight terror filled eyes stared up at him, not catching the joke. One pair began to fill with tears. Wesley quickly put his hands up in a yielding position.

"I was just joking, just joking. I would never eat you!"

The rigid company relaxed in a shared breath. The leader stepped forward cautiously.

"Mister Orc, I am Faramir Took, son of Peregrin Took, Thain of the Shire." The boy was proud of this fact and shook the long dark curls away from his face. Wesley blinked. Apparently this was important to the boy, so he humored him. He extended his hand with a flourish and bowed slightly. Faramir's friends fought a losing battle against the giggles as the stranger gave Faramir a royal greeting. Faramir cautiously extended his hand as well and they shook slowly. Wesley grinned and laughed at they boy's apprehension.

"Am I really that scary looking? Besides, my name's not "Mister Orc", it's Wesley, Wesley Bairns. You're not such a bad kid when you're not waving a stick around, but I can't say that much for the rest of your friends if I don't get to meet thm as well…" Wesley waved at the remaining trio. There was an exchange of whispers before anyone stepped forward. It was another boy, similar in appearance to Faramir, with the same sky blue eyes, but without the red hair. Instead his hair was dark brown and longer, held back into a loose ponytail. He held out his hand confidently.

"I'm Pippin Gamgee, son of Samwise Gamgee the Mayor of the Shire. This is my sist…ow!"

Pippin had been curtly interrupted by a firm trampeling on the foot from Faramir, who stood beside him. Wesley saw the Gamgee boy glare and rub his foot in silent protest as the girl shyly stepped forward and introduced herself.

"I am Goldilocks Gamgee, daughter of the Mayor, Samwise Gamgee," she curtsied politely and he nodded his head in return. "I am nine and three-quarters," she added a grave warning. Wesley tried hard not to laugh throughout the little girl's serious comment. Goldilocks…were her escorts supposed to be the three bears? Finally, with much persuasion, the last child introduced himself.

"I…I'm Tom…Tommy Cot-Cotton…" he stuttered and then looked at the ground red-faced. Pippin gave him a slap on the back.

"Don't worry about Tommy, he's shy, and he has trouble talking right," the older boy explained. Wesley nodded his head. It sounded like the boy had a bit of a stutter. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Cotton," Wesley held out his hand for the boy. The boy looked up in amazement, then eagerly took his hand and gave it a vivacous swing. Wesley grinned. He liked these kids. They were different somehow…and he couldn't quite put his finger on it…He watched them and they watched him silently. They began to fidget and he finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"So, uh, why exactly are we in a cave?"

The bright, yellow orb reached its peak. It grinned wickedly down on the green, lush globe. Suddenly the sky filled with the throaty growl of thunder. The sun grimaced as the dark rain clouds began their attack. It continued its rotation, but now it was invisible half of the Earth. It would wait until tomorrow. Or perhaps the day after that. The sun was very patient. It had all the time in the world to wait…

Jessica rolled over with a grimace. She groaned when she felt her ribs expand and then retract and her brow furrowed with pain. "I don't wanna wake up…I don't wanna go to school…I don't wanna grow up…be a Toys-R-Whaaaaa?" She slowly rolled over onto her back again. The sheets were so warm and silky and the pillow was so soft…She opened both eyes and her heart skipped a beat. Fueled by fear and adrenaline, she shot up into a seated position. She sank back into the warm sheets just as quickly and groaned with pain. Her eyes closed again. "I'm just dreamin'…I'm just dreamin'…"

"Ah, the little Mistress is awake."

Jessica opened one blue eye cautiously. Then she shut it again.

"Justdreamingjustdreamingjustdreamingjust…"

"Well, you might want to wake up now, little Mistress. I've brought you the famed cuisine of the Elves," the voice said. Well, it didn't so much speak as it did sing. Jessica opened both of her eyes at the smell of herbs and other delicious but unknown aromas. The woman above her was tall and slender with dark hair and eyes. She carried herself gracefully away from Jessica's bed towards the ornamentally engraved doorway where two other men stood. They were similar in appearance to her, but both of their eyes were bright blue, not unlike Jessica's own. The woman sang, or spoke, Jessica was not sure which, a moment to the men and they entered with the dishes of food. Jessica could feel her empty stomach begin to twist and she watched them with eager eyes. The woman laughed.

"I see that you are feeling better, perhaps you will be rested enough for conversation after the meal…" the woman trailed off and smiled down at Jessica warmly.

"What…I mean how-where-who…" Jessica found her voice and the questions flowed like water out of a broken fire hydrant. She gaped at the food, then at the woman, then at the room, and then back at the food. Her mouth opened and closed in desperate awe at her surroundings and she questioned the woman at her bedside with her eyes. The woman just smiled again.

"Eat first, then we will talk."

With that, the woman turned and left Jessica to fill her stomach and sort her thoughts. Jessica ravenously attacked the dishes of food in front of her. It seemed like she hadn't eaten in days. While she ate she thought quietly to herself. Where was she? How did she get here? Where was everyone else? Who was that woman? With the turn of her head, Jessica thought she saw something incredible, but she brushed it off as the product of blurry eyes fresh from sleep.

 Suddenly a thought occurred to her that had never entered her mind. Elves. The woman had spoken of the Elves' food. Jessica gulped the mouthful of what she now assumed was Elvish food and sat very still for several minutes. No, her eyes had not been deceiving her. With the turn of the woman's head, her dark, silky hair had parted to reveal one very abnormally _pointed_ ear.

Jessica sat very still and very quiet until the two men, Elves she now assumed, came and cleared the plates away. Finally, the woman returned. She gracefully seated herself in a delicate silver chair beside Jessica's bed. Jessica stared at her with wide eyes.

"Now is the time for conversation," the Elvish woman sang/spoke to the girl. "I will try to answer all of your questions as long as you try to answer all of my queries as well." Jessica nodded silently to this. Then she began.

"Who am I?"

_The rains disappeared as quickly as they had come and the clouds dissipated. They left the sun to its insufferable cycle of watching and waiting. They were only a brief disturbance, not even a very remarkable one at that. The sun watched and waited, then watched and waited some more. It watched and waited for the end. For thought its purpose was to continue rising and setting over the green globe, its goal was to reach its peak, to burst forth one last time in a flash of fury. Its goal was to leave in a flash of glory. So it watched the small green and blue mass rotate thoughtfully below it. So it waited for the end. So now we sleep and now we wait for the end…of the story, that is. Until our next meeting, children. May the Valar protect you and keep your lives uneventful. Adventure brings with it either victory…or downfall. _


	2. Ruunya Aara: A Red Dawn

Chapter Two: Ruunya Aara (A Red Dawn)  
  
May whimpered as the sun's brilliant light pierced her thin eyelids. She thrashed in her makeshift bed of cold, wet sand and clinging seaweed to escape the coming daylight, but to no avail; the sun had no intention of letting her rest anymore, if rest was what you could call it. She had spent a fitful night of fever and light sleep. Her damp, cool clothes had made the night all the worse. At least the rising sun would be helpful for something. She opened one bleary, swollen eye and sat up with a gasp.  
  
One of the most frightening experiences is to wake up and have forgotten where you are. The most is to wake up and not know where you are. Alone. May's chest heaved with deep and shaking breaths.  
  
"Where am I?" She asked the ocean. It murmured sympathetically and soothed her with its endless rhythm. She stared in silent horror at the ocean's vastness. The clear blue waters stretched for miles in front of her and met with the unending blue sky on the horizon. The picture of limitless blue was too much for her exhausted, weak spirit. A tear etched a trench down her dirty, salt encrusted face. She sat in the warming sand and stared at the ocean blankly for several minutes.  
  
"Where am I?" she murmured again. May finally ripped her eyes away from the blue landscape and scanned the sandy white beaches. White might have been an understatement. They glistened beneath the rising orb; they glistened so bright that it hurt the girl's eyes to watch them for too long. May had never seen a beach so pure. It was as if the sand had never been touched before. It was clean. It was unspoiled. It was.  
  
"All over me! In my hair, in my shirt, in my eyes." she moaned and grumbled. She looked down into her damp jeans. "Yup, it's even in my pants. Blech."  
  
Despite the protests from her aching bones and sore muscles, she slowly climbed to her feet. She quickly brushed herself off, but soon found her gaze transfixed on the ocean again. She scanned the blue horizon and sighed deeply.  
  
"I wanna go home," she whispered. The ocean chided her repeatedly and she gave the unending blue background a rueful smile. Standing here, staring at nothing was not going to get her home very quickly. Suddenly she felt the urge to rub her nose and.she sneezed. And she sneezed again. And again. And one last time for good measure. After this volley she felt lightheaded and dizzy. She wiped her nose against one of the few possessions she still had: her shirt.  
  
"Great. I'm sick now too," she muttered. She gritted her teeth, unhappily finding that sand had found yet another place to lodge itself, and began to stagger away. She wasn't sure where she was going.well, actually she was. She was quite sure that she was going away from the cold, wet burrow she had slept in the night before, but despite that she was completely lost. She trudged along the beach, grimly contemplating the day before- or so she assumed it was the day before. She could not be sure of anything it seemed.  
  
As she staggered through the thick, white sand she found her thoughts wandering. She wondered where her friends were.maybe they had woken up to the same discomfort and growing illness as she had. She grinned thoughtfully. Not all of them would have. They were smarter than she. Jun Dae would have made sure that he was warm and dry before he slept. Joshua would have struggled all the way to civilization so that he wouldn't have to sleep in the open. Jessica.yeah, Jessica probably would have woken up in the same condition. She gave the beaches another lopsided grin. Then it slowly dissipated into a thoughtful frown. One more.there was one more person with her yesterday. Who was it? Her brow furrowed in thought and she watched the sand for clues as it passed beneath her. Frustration was carving itself deeper and deeper into her heart. This was important. Why couldn't she just remember?  
  
The time passed slowly. Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. Finally two. The impatient teenager was beginning to give up hope. She had been washed ashore on a deserted island, probably somewhere in South America, where they'd never find her. Her knees grew weaker and her fits of sneezing stronger. Her eyes were continuously watering now and she wiped them with her sleeve. She looked at the debris on her sleeve in disgust.  
  
"Ugh, that's just sick. What I really want now is a box of Kleenex."  
  
She wandered on in silence for another hour, her thoughts taking their free roam again. She began to hum after a while. Then she sang softly to herself.  
  
Hark; I hear the harps eternal, Ringing on the father shore, As I near those swollen waters, With their deep and solemn roar.  
  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Praise the Lamb Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
  
Glory to the great I AM  
  
May's brow furrowed, again in thought as she tried to remember the rest of the song. It was a choral song she had learned at school.but she had forgotten some of the words. She hummed the chorus a few times to see if that would help jog her memory. To her surprise it did.  
  
And my soul, though stained with sorrow, Fading as the light of day, Passes swiftly o'er those waters, To the city far away.  
  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Praise the Lamb Oh! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Glory to the great I AM!  
  
She quieted and hummed a bit before starting from the beginning again, having forgotten the rest of the verses. She looked quite the sight to the quiet island. May staggered through the sand, her dark hair a nest of seaweed and sand, all the while singing. Her golden eyes were swollen and squinted half shut because of the sun, which shone brightly, warming her still damp clothing. She was weak and weary because of exhaustion and the increasing threat of sickness, but she kept walking mechanically despite the lack of will.  
  
"'Tis a pretty song you sing, little lark."  
  
May felt her heart jump nearly as high as she herself did. The voice had come suddenly and May, after hearing only her own voice for several hours, was not at all prepared. May found the owner of the voice had made his way to her side without her ever noticing. She looked at the voice's owner in awe. He was a middle-aged man.and he was very small. She looked him over carefully. He was incredibly small. She had heard that when you reach a certain age you begin to shrink, but this was ridiculous. His hair was now gray, but the remains of dark curls were still noticeable. May noticed that he only had four fingers on his right hand. The middle one was missing. She tried hard not to stare, or crack any opportune jokes about it in her mind. Losing any sort of body part must be painful.even if it is a middle finger. He had large, blue eyes that twinkled in the bright sunlight and he walked along the sand barefoot. She stared hard at his barefoot feet. He laughed when he saw her reaction.  
  
"Yes, quite odd, aren't they?" he asked her, shaking one large hairy foot in the air above the sand. She could only reply with a muted nod. She quickly found her voice, and before long the questions came.  
  
"Who are you?" She asked hesitantly before she sneezed again. "Sorry."  
  
"I am Frodo Baggins of the Shire. And who might you be, child?" May noticed that he seemed to bristle slightly at her lack of finesse with introductions. She sighed slightly.  
  
"I'm Marjorie Grant, but it's much easier to just call me May. Um.I come from Atlanta."  
  
"Well, Miss Grant," May reddened at Frodo's formality. "Both your name and your home are foreign to me. Tell me, how did you arrive in Valinor? I have no recollection of your name or face."  
  
May blinked. "Actually," she began quietly, "I was hoping you could tell me."  
  
It was Frodo's turn to look surprised. May could feel his eyes staring into the back of her head as she turned to face the outstretched sea. Then came the question she had been dreading.  
  
"You mean, you do not know?"  
  
"Last night, this morning, I don't really know when it was, I was washed up onto this beach. I woke up this morning with a bad cold and a pile of seaweed," she explained earnestly. She sneezed again, as if to prove her point. She knew just about as much as he did. She glanced at the sea solemnly. "The last thing I remember before waking up here was standing in the woods.talking with my friends." She turned to him sharply. "Have you seen them? Are they here? Where are they?"  
  
"Just a moment, miss. Just a moment. I am only one hobbit; I do not have all the answers," he tried to calm her. "But I believe I can take you to someone who does." Her imploring eyes dropped to the ground and she watched the sand.  
  
"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. "It's just."  
  
"I know. I know," he tried to comfort her. He gave her shoulder a gentle, but awkward pat. They both lapsed into silence. May thought it up to her to break it.  
  
"Wait.where are we again?"  
  
The hobbit laughed again. He smiled and stared into the distance.  
  
"You, my child, are in Valinor, or the Undying Lands." He noticed her blank look. "You are in Aman." He tried again.  
  
May stared at him blankly. Valinor? Aman? There was a boy in her chemistry class named Aman, but never an island. Not that she knew of any ways. Besides, what on earth were the "Undying Lands"? She'd never heard of anything about an island on which the inhabitants never died. It was impossible. She could feel the urge to rub her nose again and knew that another fit of sneezing was coming. She stopped and sneezed. Then she sneezed again. Her eyes were watering so much now that it looked like she was sobbing. She sneezed a third time. This time it felt like her brains were trying to make an escape. She sneezed yet again. She reeled around like a drunken man losing his balance on a bar table. Her head was light and the blue sky was beginning to darken.  
  
"Little Miss!" She heard her companion cry out. He clutched her arm in an attempt to correct her balance. She sneezed again. This time she fell to the sand on her knees. She sneezed again and again. It seemed like it would never stop, and indeed it didn't, until she saw the world go black. Then she saw no more. 


	3. Taureliloomea: A Many Shadowed Forest

Taureliloomea: A Many Shadowed Forest

The forest was quiet except for the whispers of the trees. The wind smelled like dying vegetation and hibernating animals. Fall was in the air; winter was impatiently ticking the months, days, and hours. The pungent wind could not penetrate the thick foliage above to disturb the air below. All was calm and peaceful. Well, perhaps not _all_…

Jun Dae blinked. The tree blinked back. A cold chill of fear swept into his heart and stole his breath away. He gripped the rough bark of the tree's stout trunk all the tighter. His knees were weak and trembling. The tree calmly watched Jun Dae collapse onto the wide, sturdy oak branch. The boy remained very still.

"_Ruuumba-roooomba-tum. Taruumba-romorooo…_" the tree murmured slowly, seemingly to himself. The boy did not move. The tree gave him an amused stare and waited. The boy still did not move.

"_Ralarum-arunnn. _I am afraid," the tree paused and took in a deep breath. "That the little hobbit has died of fright." The comment was directed to the tree next to Jun Dae. One large, brown eye opened slowly and deliberately. The second opened just as thoughtfully as the first and they both swiveled sideways towards the unconscious boy. The newly awakened tree was quiet. When he finally spoke the forest jumped in surprise.

"Hobbit?" the second tree murmured. "This is no hobbit…it is a little man."

Once again silence took its toll. The two trees sat in silence, contemplating the oblivious Korean. 

"_Rarumbaboom-room_…How can you tell the difference, Fangorn? They are so similar…"

The first tree waited for a response from his elder. Then he waited some more. It seemed to him that his fellow tree had fallen back into the slumber he had recently awoken from. This did not daunt him and he waited some more. Finally his patience paid off.

"The feet." 

The first tree peered curiously at the boy's feet. They were black and lumpy. His dark eyes were filled with alarm as he cried: "The little man is dead! Look at his roots, they are terribly discolored…"

"_Murummm-bara-rara_. Dead? No. Not dead. _Vamuuraaaa_…Don't be hasty, Bregalad," the elder tree, Fangorn according to his companion, admonished slowly. Bregalad sighed slowly while rumbling with the strange words of his tongue. "What should we do with him?"

Fangorn looked at him calmly.

"That is not my decision," he told the younger tree. They were silent for several moments. This time it was neither of them that broke the silence, but instead, the boy groaned. Two pairs of thoughtful, deep eyes were directed to the stirring form of Jun Dae. One pair of frightened, young eyes peered back. All three were silent.

"Trees don't talk," Jun Dae muttered to himself for comfort.

"They may not talk to you," Bregalad rumbled, watching the boy stiffen. "But does that mean they do not have voices?"

The boy eyed Bregalad warily. "Who are you? What am I doing here? Where is here? Have you seen my frie…" Jun Dae was cut off by the deep, rumbling laughter emitting from the larger tree, the tree he had not heard speak yet. The boy stopped and gaped at the trees.

"Perhaps I was mistaken. A hobbit he might yet be, for such hastiness rivals even your own, Bregalad," the larger of the trees laughed. Jun Dae assumed that the smaller, more slender tree's name was Bregalad from this comment forth. Bregalad laughed as well and Jun Dae just sat in partial astonishment, partial annoyance. He was lost, alone (i.e. not in vicinity of human beings), hungry, tired, on the verge of wetting his pants out of fright; great, now even the trees were laughing at him. 

"Excuse me," he heard his voice sound harsh and irritable against the rich laughter. "Could you get me down?"

If he could have spared one of his trembling legs, he would have kicked himself. The two trees stared at him calmly. Then they turned and stared at each other; Jun Dae could have sworn that they must have been using telepathy. He waited impatiently while they gazed at both him and each other. He would have passed the time by fidgeting, but he didn't dare move. He sat still and quiet and frightened by the silence while they stared.

"Why don't you," the boy jumped at the sudden noise. "Get down the same way you got up?" Bregalad finished. Jun Dae stared at him in disbelief. The larger tree murmured what sounded like an African tribal chant to the speaker and they both smiled. The boy shook his head in frustration.

"I don't _know _how I got up here…I…I…" he struggled for the words. "I thought you knew…"

The two trees pierced him with their deep eyes. In them, he could see many years of wisdom, knowledge, and experience in their depths. He felt very foolish and childish all of a sudden; his sixteen years were nothing more than a blink of the eye to them. The confusion and scant details added to his embarrassment and frustration. Heart racing and blood pounding, he watched his only links to this world converse quietly. The larger of the two took one step toward the tree, and one step was all it took before he was directly across from Jun Dae. He lifted up one gnarled, many-fingered hand to the boy. Jun Dae hesitantly stepped toward the tree and waited to see what would happen to him next.

"What is your name, little man?"

"My name's Jun Dae Chang."

"Do you know who I am, Jun Dae Chang?"

"No."

"Do you want to know who I am?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Jun Dae could feel the coarse hand encircle him. Soon he was flying through the air, the parcel of a walking, talking tree. His breathing was shallow and he closed his eyes tight. He could feel the tree begin to move forward and he opened his eyes in alarm.

"Hey! Where are we going?"

"_We_, Jun Dae Chang? _You_ are going to meet the Ents…Bregalad and I are going to meet with _lulalarumaaaa-loronnn-tuluuur-nar_, or in your tongue, Ally of the Forest…" the tree trailed off into more rumblings of the strange language. They walked in silence, save the singing of the two trees, which came and went sporadically. During one of the moments in which neither of the two was singing Jun Dae found the opportunity to ask the one question that had been worrying him.

"So, uh, what exactly is an Ent?"

The two trees could only laugh.

_**A/n: Just in case you are wondering, Fangorn is the Elvish for Treebeard and Bregalad is the Elvish for Quickbeam…not telling who the Ally of the Forest is yet (I know, cheesy, but I couldn't come up with anything better ;) Please Review!!! You be my friend forever if you review!!!**_


	4. Roomenya Erume: The Eastern Desert

Roomenya Erume: The Eastern Desert 

The sea of sand smoldered beneath the sun's glare. The air was thick with heat and stale with disuse; this land had been long forgotten by the world. A lone, disheveled figure valiantly attempted to reawaken the oxygen. His chest heaved as he staggered the length of the dunes. The long forsaken path of sparse gravel and dying cactuses was nearly hidden, causing him to stoop often and peer with blurry, sand crusted eyes until it was found again. Then he would stagger on.

            Josh wheezed with effort as he waded through the sand. A trail of sweat, which poured of off his face like a faucet, marked his long path through the desert, but the winds were swift and soon the sands were smoothed. There would be no trace of his trek left when the day was through. Finally the combination of dehydration and heat beat him to the ground and, lacking the strength to rise, there he stayed.

            _I guess this is what it's like to die, _he thought morbidly as the sands began to cover him. The winds blew the thick grains over his feet first, hiding his worn tennis shoes from view. Then he saw his hand disappear beneath a sea of gold. It was not long before he was futilely wiping the blinding sand away from his face. The heat suddenly became too much and his body went limp. Josh drifted in and out of consciousness, occasionally he was even able to register a cohesive thought beyond, _Geez, I'm kinda thirsty…_

            He watched behind dark eyelids as scrambled bits and pieces of memories kaleidoscoped in his mind's eye. They were random and confusing: his first day of High School, his tenth birthday, a hamburger, a Yankee's game, his first kiss…suddenly the kaleidoscope went black. When he awoke again, he found that he could no longer see; the relentless sand inhibited his eyesight. Miserable and immobile, he lay on the ground in shock. _I don't think that I wanna die, _he pondered unhappily. The world went black with this thought. 

            _Now I lay me down to sleep._ He awoke with the prayer already in his thoughts. Surprised, but not taken aback, he continued. _I pray the Lord my soul to keep._ He thought for a moment about those two lines. Perhaps death was just like sleeping. He could feel the sun's scorching heat above him and would have grimaced had he control over his mouth. All right, perhaps his death would be like falling asleep in a sauna, but it was still just like falling asleep. _If I should die before I wake._ Josh could feel the welcoming drowsiness of darkness creeping up in him again. He tried to smile as the world and all its cares disappeared.

            The wind howled despairingly. The sand whipped about aimlessly. The traveler's thick legs moved quickly over the sand; it glided over the burning dunes with ease. The sun saw it's yellow face reflected in the traveler's shining armor. It moved through the desert like a glittering crystal in a light bulb factory. Stopping abruptly in front of an abnormal lump, it reached down and dug into the small pile. Apparently satisfied, it straightened to its full, massive height, clutching in one hand a disarray of clothes, skin, and hair. It grinned.

            Josh could feel himself being rudely commanded back to reality. Life-giving oxygen entered his lungs as he gulped the thick, heat-saturated air in. He opened his tear filled eyes and squinted at the dark outline of a gigantic figure and could feel his heart sink slowly. He could feel the cold, bony hands close around his waist. _Grim Reaper's definitely not a skeleton…_He thought dimly. He opened his dry, sand filled mouth and attempted to protest, but he could only croak. Helpless, he felt himself being lifted into the heat-ridden air. He closed his eyes in dismay and dizziness. He could feel the darkness coming to claim him again, and this time he welcomed it. Before he had the chance to slip into the cool dreams of unconsciousness, he found himself parting his chapped lips. He desperately croaked one last time.

            "I pray the Lord my soul to take."


End file.
